What animal does the goddess Taweret take the form of?

What animal does the goddess Taweret take the form of? Hippopotamus. Taweret is usually shown as a pregnant, bipedal female hippopotamus protecting mothers and children.

Taweret was an Egyptian household goddess of childbirth, fertility, nursing, and protection. Her frightening animal form was benevolent: female hippopotamuses fiercely defend their young, so the animal represented both maternal care and the power to drive away danger.

Her composite image often includes a lion’s paws and legs, a Nile crocodile’s tail, pendulous human breasts, and a pregnant belly. These features combined protective ferocity with nourishment and regeneration. Amulets, ivory “magic knives,” feeding vessels, and household objects frequently carried her image.

Taweret is sometimes confused with Ammit, another Egyptian composite figure with hippopotamus features. Ammit was associated with devouring the unjust in the afterlife, whereas Taweret protected childbirth and family life. Taweret also belonged to a wider group of hippopotamus goddesses, including Ipet and Reret, whose roles could overlap in later Egyptian religion.